Port Blair, Aug 24: A meeting of the left-out categories of teachers viz., Head Masters, Librarians, Craft Instructors, Physical Education Teachers, Music Teachers, PSRTs, Lab. Assistants, etc. was held at 4 p.m. yesterday at Port Blair in which the issue relating to the grant of Part-B upgraded grade pay to the above categories of teachers was discussed.
The meeting through a resolution adopted noted that the Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association has been requesting the A & N Administration and the Govt. of India to extend the Part B upgraded pay to all the above left-out categories of teachers and miscellaneous teachers working under the Education Department of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration.
The above categories of teachers and miscellaneous teachers whose scales of pay was at par with the PGTs, GTTs and PSTs as the case may be, till the implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, have been denied of the benefit of upgraded Pay under Part B of CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 on the plea that the above posts have not been specifically mentioned in the said rules.
The meeting discussed the entire gamut of the issue and came to the conclusion that the correspondences made by this Association did not evoke any positive response either from the A & N Administration or from the Govt. of India, thereby keeping the above categories of teachers, numbering about 850, denied of their rightful benefit of upgraded pay.
The meeting noted that the above categories of teachers working in other union territories including Govt of NCT of Delhi and central government schools have been allowed the upgraded pay under Part B and only in A & N Islands, the said benefits have been denied to these categories of teachers.
The meeting, after a lengthy discussion, had come to the conclusion that there is no alternative left than resorting to agitation as the persuasion and making correspondences during the last six years did not bring any solution to the issue. The meeting noted that the 7th Central Pay Commission has been set up and its recommendations are likely to be submitted to the Govt. of India next year. If this issue is not resolved now, the above categories of teachers will be deprived of the benefit permanently.
The meeting accordingly, decided to carry out peaceful agitation by mobilizing teachers especially all the left-out categories of teachers working under the Education Department of A & N Administration to press for the above demand.
Shri HL Prasad, Vice President, Shri D. Ayyappan, General Secretary, Shri TS Sreekumar, Asst. General Secretary, Shri R. Surendran Pillai, Secretary, Shri Venkat Rama Rao, Vice President and Shri SL Vinjit, Joint Secretary of South Andaman Teachers’ Branch of the Association addressed the meeting. Shri Rajeshwar Velu presided over the meeting.
A large number of teachers working in the schools of Port Blair and South Andaman areas who are deprived of the above benefit attended the meeting and participated in the discussion.
